We treated 98 patients with peri-acetabular tumours by resection and reconstruction with a custom-made pelvic endoprosthesis. The overall survival of the patients was 67% at five years, 54% at ten years and 51% at 30 years. One or more complications occurred in 58.1% of patients (54), of which infection was the most common, affecting 30% (28 patients). The rate of local recurrence was 31% (29 patients) after a mean follow-up of 71 months (11 to 147). Dislocation occurred in 20% of patients (19). Before 1996 the rate was 40.5% (17 patients) but this was reduced to 3.9% (two patients) with the introduction of a larger femoral head. There were six cases of palsy of the femoral nerve with recovery in only two. Revision or excision arthroplasty was performed in 23.7% of patients (22), principally for uncontrolled infection or aseptic loosening. Higher rates of death, infection and revision occurred in men. This method of treatment is still associated with high morbidity. Patients should be carefully selected and informed of this pre-operatively.
A consecutive series of 320 patients with an
intracapsular fracture of the hip treated with a dynamic locking
plate (Targon Femoral Neck (TFN)) were reviewed. All surviving patients
were followed for a minimum of two years. During the follow-up period
109 patients died. There were 112 undisplaced fractures, of which three (2.7%) developed
nonunion or re-displacement and five (4.5%) developed avascular
necrosis of the femoral head. Revision to an arthroplasty was required
for five patients (4.5%). A further six patients (5.4%) had elective
removal of the plate and screws. There were 208 displaced fractures, of which 32 (15.4%) developed
nonunion or re-displacement and 23 (11.1%) developed avascular necrosis.
A further four patients (1.9%) developed a secondary fracture around
the TFN. Revision to a hip replacement was required for 43 patients
(20.7%) patients and a further seven (3.3%) had elective removal
of the plate and screws. It is suggested that the stronger distal fixation combined with
rotational stability may lead to a reduced incidence of complications
related to the healing of the fracture when compared with other
contemporary fixation devices but this needs to be confirmed in
further studies. Cite this article:
We retrospectively reviewed 11 consecutive patients with an infected reverse shoulder prosthesis. Patients were assessed clinically and radiologically, and standard laboratory tests were carried out. Peroperative samples showed Propionbacterium acnes in seven, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in five, methicillin-resistant A one-stage revision arthroplasty reduces the cost and duration of treatment. It is reliable in eradicating infection and good functional outcomes can be achieved.
We undertook a retrospective study of 50 consecutive patients (41 male, 9 female) with an infected nonunion and bone defect of the femoral shaft who had been treated by radical debridement and distraction osteogenesis. Their mean age was 29.9 years (9 to 58) and they had a mean of 3.8 (2 to 19) previous operations. They were followed for a mean of 5.9 years (2.0 to 19.0). The mean duration of the distraction osteogenesis was 24.5 months (2 to 39). Pin-track infection was observed in all patients. The range of knee movement was reduced and there was a mean residual leg-length discrepancy of 1.9 cm (0 to 8) after treatment. One patient required hip disarticulation to manage intractable sepsis. In all, 13 patients had persistant pain. Bony union was achieved in 49 patients at a mean of 20.7 months (12 to 35). Although distraction osteogenesis is commonly used for the treatment of infected femoral nonunion with bone defects, it is associated with a high rate of complications.
Tranexamic acid (TEA), an inhibitor of fibrinolysis,
reduces blood loss after routine total knee replacement (TKR). However,
controversy persists regarding the dosage and timing of administration
of this drug during surgery. We performed a prospective randomised
controlled study to examine the optimum blood-saving effect of TEA
in minimally invasive TKR. We randomly assigned 151 patients who underwent unilateral minimally
invasive TKR to three groups: 1) a placebo group (50 patients);
2) a one-dose TEA group (52 patients), who received one injection
of TEA (10 mg/kg) intra-operatively on deflation of the tourniquet;
and 3) a two-dose TEA group (49 patients), who received two injections
of TEA (10 mg/kg) given pre-operatively and intra-operatively. Total
blood loss was calculated from the maximum loss of haemoglobin.
All patients were followed clinically for the presence of venous
thromboembolism (VTE). The mean total blood loss was significantly higher in the placebo
group than in the other two groups (1222 ml (845 to 2043) Our prospective randomised controlled study showed that one intra-operative
injection of TEA is effective for blood conservation after minimally
invasive TKR.
We present a series of 48 patients with infected total knee replacements managed by the use of articulating cement spacers and short-term parenteral antibiotic therapy in the postoperative period. All patients had microbiological and/or histological confirmation of infection at the first stage of their revision. They all underwent re-implantation and had a mean follow-up of 48.5 months (26 to 85). Infection was successfully eradicated in 42 of the 48 patients (88%). Six had persistent infection which led to recurrence of symptoms and further surgery was successful in eliminating infection in four patients. These rates of success are similar to those of other comparable series. We conclude that protracted courses of intravenous antibiotic treatment may not be necessary in the management of the infected total knee replacement. In addition, we analysed the microbiological, histological and serological results obtained at the time of re-implantation of the definitive prosthesis, but could not identify a single test which alone would accurately predict a successful outcome.
We have compared the outcomes of the use of external fixation devices for spanning or sparing the ankle joint in the treatment of fractures of the tibial plafond, focusing on the complications and the rates of healing. We have devised a scoring system for the quality of reporting of clinical outcomes, to determine the reliability of the results. We conducted a search of publications in English between 1990 and 2006 using the Pubmed search engine. The key words used were pilon, pylon, plafond fractures, external fixation. A total of 15 articles, which included 465 fractures, were eligible for final evaluation. There were no statistically significant differences between spanning and sparing fixation systems regarding the rates of infection, nonunion, and the time to union. Patients treated with spanning frames had significantly greater incidence of malunion compared with patients treated with sparing frames. In both groups, the outcome reporting score was very low; 60% of reports involving infection, nonunion or malunion scored 0 points.
This review summarises the opinions and conclusions
reached from a symposium on infected total knee replacement (TKR)
held at the British Association of Surgery of the Knee (BASK) annual
meeting in 2011. The National Joint Registry for England and Wales
reported 5082 revision TKRs in 2010, of which 1157 (23%) were caused
by infection. The diagnosis of infection beyond the acute post-operative
stage relies on the identification of the causative organism by
aspiration and analysis of material obtained at arthroscopy. Ideal
treatment then involves a two-stage surgical procedure with extensive
debridement and washout, followed by antibiotics. An articulating
or non-articulating drug-eluting cement spacer is used prior to
implantation of the revision prosthesis, guided by the serum level
of inflammatory markers. The use of a single-stage revision is gaining popularity
and we would advocate its use in certain patients where the causative
organism is known, no sinuses are present, the patient is not immunocompromised,
and there is no radiological evidence of component loosening or
osteitis. It is our opinion that single-stage revision produces high-quality
reproducible results and will soon achieve the same widespread acceptance
as it does in infected hip arthroplasty.
Total hip replacement (THR) has been shown to
be a cost-effective procedure. However, it is not risk-free. Certain conditions,
such as diabetes mellitus, are thought to increase the risk of complications.
In this study we have evaluated the prevalence of diabetes mellitus
in patients undergoing THR and the associated risk of adverse operative
outcomes. A meta-analysis and systematic review were conducted according
to the guidelines of the meta-analysis of observational studies
in epidemiology. Inclusion criteria were observational studies reporting
the prevalence of diabetes in the study population, accompanied
by reports of at least one of the following outcomes: venous thromboembolic
events; acute coronary events; infections of the urinary tract,
lower respiratory tract or surgical site; or requirement for revision
arthroplasty. Altman and Bland’s methods were used to calculate differences
in relative risks. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was found
to be 5.0% among patients undergoing THR, and was associated with
an increased risk of established surgical site infection (odds ratio
(OR) 2.04 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.52 to 2.76)), urinary
infection (OR 1.43 (95% CI 1.33 to 1.55)) and lower respiratory
tract infections (OR 1.95 (95% CI 1.61 to 2.26)). Diabetes mellitus
is a relatively common comorbidity encountered in THR. Diabetic
patients have a higher rate of developing both surgical site and
non-surgical site infections following THR. Cite this article:
The Salter innominate osteotomy has been used successfully for many years in the treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip. One of its main drawbacks is the need for internal fixation with pins and their subsequent removal. We describe a modification of this osteotomy that does not require pin fixation and secondary removal. We retrospectively reviewed 114 hips in 94 patients who had been operated on by a single surgeon. An oblique rather than the original horizontal osteotomy was used without internal fixation. There were 80 female and 14 male patients. The mean age at operation was 25 months (18 to 84) and the mean follow-up was 30 months (12 to 88). Most patients required additional open reduction and capsuloplasty. The mean pre-operative acetabular index was 37.9° (24° to 54°), which decreased to 19.9° (7° to 29°) in the immediate post-operative period, and improved to 14.6° (5° to 25°) at the final follow-up (student’s We believe that by changing the direction of the osteotomy line, it is possible to avoid pin fixation. The radiological outcomes are comparable to those of the original technique, but longer follow-up will be necessary.
We report the outcome of total hip replacement in 29 failed metal-on-metal resurfacing hip replacements in which the primary surgery was performed between August 1995 and February 2005. The mean length of follow-up was five years (1.7 to 11.7). Of the 29 hip resurfacings, 19 acetabular components and all the femoral components were revised (28 uncemented stems and one cemented stem). There were no deaths and none of the patients was lost to follow-up. None of the hips underwent any further revision. The results of the revision resurfacing group were compared with those of a control group of age-matched patients. In the latter group there were 236 primary total hip replacements and 523 resurfacings performed during the same period by the same surgeons. The outcome of the revision resurfacing group was comparable with that of the stemmed primary hip replacement group but was less good than that of the primary hip resurfacing group. Long-term follow-up is advocated to monitor the outcome of these cases.
Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is indicated
for many patients with pain and/or instability of the lumbar spine.
We performed 36 PLIF procedures using the patient’s lumbar spinous
process and laminae, which were inserted as a bone graft between
two vertebral bodies without using a cage. The mean lumbar lordosis
and mean disc height to vertebral body ratio were restored and preserved
after surgery. There were no serious complications. These results suggest that this procedure is safe and effective.
We have previously described the mid- to long-term
results of conventional simple varus intertrochanteric osteotomy
for osteonecrosis of the femoral head, showing that 19 of the 26
hips had good or excellent results. We extended the follow-up to
a mean of 18.1 years (10.5 to 26) including a total of 34 hips in
28 patients, with a mean age at surgery of 33 years (19 to 53).
There were 18 men and ten women and 25 hips (74%) had a satisfactory
result with a Harris hip score ≥ 80. In all, six hips needed total
hip replacement (THR) or hemiarthroplasty. The collapse of the femoral
head or narrowing of the joint space was found to have progressed
in nine hips (26%). Leg shortening after osteotomy was a mean of
19 mm (8 to 36). With conversion to THR or hemiarthroplasty as the
endpoint, the ten-year survival rate was 88.2% (95% confidence interval
(CI) 82.7 to 93.7) and the 20-year survival rate was 79.7% (95%
CI 72.1 to 87.3); four hips were converted at ten years and other
two hips were converted at 20 years. Shortening of the leg after osteotomy remains a concern; however,
the conventional varus half-wedge osteotomy provides favourable
long-term results in hips with less than two-thirds of the medial
part of the femoral head affected by necrotic bone and with normal
bone superolaterally.
The aim of this study was to compare a third-generation
cementing procedure for glenoid components with a new technique
for cement pressurisation. In 20 pairs of scapulae, 20 keeled and
20 pegged glenoid components were implanted using either a third-generation
cementing technique (group 1) or a new pressuriser (group 2). Cement penetration
was measured by three-dimensional (3D) analysis of micro-CT scans.
The mean 3D depth of penetration of the cement was significantly
greater in group 2 (p <
0.001). The mean thickness of the cement
mantle for keeled glenoids was 2.50 mm (2.0 to 3.3) in group 1 and
5.18 mm (4.4 to 6.1) in group 2, and for pegged glenoids it was 1.72 mm
(0.9 to 2.3) in group 1 and 5.63 mm (3.6 to 6.4) in group 2. A cement
mantle <
2 mm was detected less frequently in group 2 (p <
0.001). Using the cement pressuriser the proportion of cement mantles
<
2 mm was significantly reduced compared with the third-generation
cementing technique.
This study evaluated the effect of limb lengthening
on longitudinal growth in patients with achondroplasia. Growth of
the lower extremity was assessed retrospectively by serial radiographs
in 35 skeletally immature patients with achondroplasia who underwent
bilateral limb lengthening (Group 1), and in 12 skeletally immature
patients with achondroplasia who did not (Group 2). In Group 1,
23 patients underwent only tibial lengthening (Group 1a) and 12 patients
underwent tibial and femoral lengthening sequentially (Group 1b). The mean lengthening in the tibia was 9.2 cm (59.5%) in Group
1a, and 9.0 cm (58.2%) in the tibia and 10.2 cm (54.3%) in the femur
in Group 1b. The mean follow-up was 9.3 years (8.6 to 10.3). The
final mean total length of lower extremity in Group 1a was 526.6
mm (501.3 to 552.9) at the time of skeletal maturity and 610.1 mm
(577.6 to 638.6) in Group 1b, compared with 457.0 mm (411.7 to 502.3)
in Group 2. However, the mean actual length, representing the length
solely grown from the physis without the length of distraction,
showed that there was a significant disturbance of growth after
limb lengthening. In Group 1a, a mean decrease of 22.4 mm (21.3
to 23.1) (4.9%) was observed in the actual limb length when compared
with Group 2, and a greater mean decrease of 38.9 mm (37.2 to 40.8)
(8.5%) was observed in Group 1b when compared with Group 2 at skeletal
maturity. In Group 1, the mean actual limb length was 16.5 mm (15.8 to
17.2) (3.6%) shorter in Group 1b when compared with Group 1a at
the time of skeletal maturity. Premature physeal closure was seen
mostly in the proximal tibia and the distal femur with relative
preservation of proximal femur and distal tibia. We suggest that significant disturbance of growth can occur after
extensive limb lengthening in patients with achondroplasia, and
therefore, this should be included in pre-operative counselling
of these patients and their parents.
In skeletally immature patients, resection of
bone tumours and reconstruction of the lower limb often results
in leg-length discrepancy. The Stanmore non-invasive extendible
endoprosthesis, which uses electromagnetic induction, allows post-operative
lengthening without anaesthesia. Between 2002 and 2009, 55 children
with a mean age of 11.4 years (5 to 16) underwent reconstruction
with this prosthesis; ten patients (18.2%) died of disseminated
disease and one child underwent amputation due to infection. We
reviewed 44 patients after a mean follow-up of 41.2 months (22 to
104). The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score was 24.7 (8 to
30) and the Toronto Extremity Salvage score was 92.3% (55.2% to
99.0%). There was no local recurrence of tumour. Complications developed
in 16 patients (29.1%) and ten (18.2%) underwent revision. The mean length gained per patient was 38.6 mm (3.5 to 161.5),
requiring a mean of 11.3 extensions (1 to 40), and ten component
exchanges were performed in nine patients (16.4%) after attaining
the maximum lengthening capacity of the implant. There were 11 patients
(20%) who were skeletally mature at follow-up, ten of whom had equal
leg lengths and nine had a full range of movement of the hip and
knee. This is the largest reported series using non-invasive extendible
endoprostheses after excision of primary bone tumours in skeletally
immature patients. The technique produces a good functional outcome,
with prevention of limb-length discrepancy at skeletal maturity.
The use of passive stretching of the elbow after
arthrolysis is controversial. We report the results of open arthrolysis in
81 patients. Prospectively collected outcome data with a minimum
follow-up of one year were analysed. All patients had sustained
an intra-articular fracture initially and all procedures were performed
by the same surgeon under continuous brachial plexus block anaesthesia
and with continuous passive movement (CPM) used post-operatively
for two to three days. CPM was used to maintain the movement achieved
during surgery and passive stretching was not used at any time.
A senior physiotherapist assessed all the patients at regular intervals.
The mean range of movement (ROM) improved from 69° to 109° and the
function and pain of the upper limb improved from 32 to 16 and from
20 to 10, as assessed by the Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and
Hand score and a visual analogue scale, respectively. The greatest
improvement was obtained in the stiffest elbows: nine patients with
a pre-operative ROM <
30° achieved a mean post-operative ROM
of 92° (55° to 125°). This study demonstrates that in patients with
a stiff elbow after injury, good results may be obtained after open
elbow arthrolysis without using passive stretching during rehabilitation.
In patients with traumatic brain injury and fractures
of long bones, it is often clinically observed that the rate of bone
healing and extent of callus formation are increased. However, the
evidence has been unconvincing and an association between such an
injury and enhanced fracture healing remains unclear. We performed
a retrospective cohort study of 74 young adult patients with a mean
age of 24.2 years (16 to 40) who sustained a femoral shaft fracture
(AO/OTA type 32A or 32B) with or without a brain injury. All the
fractures were treated with closed intramedullary nailing. The main
outcome measures included the time required for bridging callus
formation (BCF) and the mean callus thickness (MCT) at the final
follow-up. Comparative analyses were made between the 20 patients
with a brain injury and the 54 without brain injury. Subgroup comparisons
were performed among the patients with a brain injury in terms of
the severity of head injury, the types of intracranial haemorrhage
and gender. Patients with a brain injury had an earlier appearance
of BCF
(p <
0.001) and a greater final MCT value (p <
0.001) than
those without. There were no significant differences with respect
to the time required for BCF and final MCT values in terms of the
severity of head injury (p = 0.521 and p = 0.153, respectively),
the types of intracranial haemorrhage (p = 0.308 and p = 0.189,
respectively) and gender (p = 0.383 and
p = 0.662, respectively). These results confirm that an injury to the brain may be associated
with accelerated fracture healing and enhanced callus formation.
However, the severity of the injury to the brain, the type of intracranial
haemorrhage and gender were not statistically significant factors
in predicting the rate of bone healing and extent of final callus formation.